First paragraph (this article has no abstract)

The brief, for my intermittent comment column for Genome Biology, was to "give a UK perspective" while "keeping it interesting for an international
audience". That's a tough brief. There is little reason for people to take an interest
in events taking place in a rainy windswept island, famous mostly for bad food, greedy
bankers and reality shows. Recently, though, because of the London 2012 Olympics,
the focus of the world's attention has briefly flitted in our direction. So, while
basking in our reflected Olympic glory, I will start with sport.